Canadiens News

Kicking it old school

MONTREAL – With all the talk centering on the new faces in the Habs’ dressing room this season, a familiar one has been busy leading the way so far for the Canadiens.

Coming off a difficult season that saw his production drop from 69 points to only 39, Tomas Plekanec has gotten off to a quick start in 2009-10. If Canadiens fans are relieved to see the old Pleky leading all Habs with six points in as many games to start the season, they aren’t alone.

“Sure it feels good to be off to strong start personally, but that’s not the most important thing,” said Plekanec. “The big thing especially this early in the season is to be playing as a line and better as a team with every game.”

As far as Plekanec’s line goes, the sight of a rejuvenated Andrei Kostitsyn on his wing might be just what the doctor ordered for the Czech centerman.

“Andrei made a really nice play tonight on my goal. If he plays like that this year, I don’t think we will have any problems,” said Plekanec. “It was like old times out there for me and Andrei, but It all comes back to confidence. Us setting up Roman for the first goal got us going and we built off that the rest of the night.

“We kept it simple and went to the net, which is something I’m looking to do a lot more of this year,” added Plekanec. “We created traffic down low and kept our feet moving, that’s what we need to do.”

After seeing his one-two punch of Plekanec and Kostitsyn combine for four points on the night, Jacques Martin is hopeful he’s caught a glimpse of what lies ahead for his No. 2 line.

“Tomas played a strong game for us tonight,” said Martin. “From what I saw, he and Andrei were among the best players on the ice. Plus their line was matched up against Colorado’s top line all night long. They really made things happen out there.”